Pittsburgh freshman Quadree Henderson provided some fireworks to start the Military Bowl, returning the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.

It was mostly all Navy the rest of the way.

Quarterback Keenan Reynolds closed his career with another virtuoso performance in leading No. 21 Navy to a 44-28 victory over Pittsburgh before an announced sellout crowd of 36,352 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Reynolds rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns and completed 9 of 17 passes for 126 yards and another score as Navy (11-2) set a single-season school record for wins. Reynolds added another wrinkle to his offensive repertoire by catching a 47-yard pass from fullback Shawn White.

Reynolds was named the Most Valuable Player after setting the NCAA record for career rushing yards by a quarterback (4,559) and reclaimed the record for most total touchdowns (88).

“He’s just a fantastic football player. Make no mistake, there was a reason that he was a finalist for the Heisman,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said of Reynolds. “He rushed for a touchdown, threw for a touchdown then made a heck of a catch on the quarterback throwback. He’s dynamic.”

Photos from the 2015 Military Bowl between Navy and Pitt at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.

Fullback Chris Swain rushed for 114 yards while slotback Dishan Romine added 84 for the Midshipmen, who dominated time of possession to the tune of 42:05 to 17:55.

Playing on their home field on a cold, dark and rainy day, Navy’s 32 seniors made history by becoming the first class in program history to win three bowl games. This group of seniors finished with a 36-16 record, tying the Class of 1909 as the winningest in school history.

“There was a lot of celebrating going on in that locker room. A lot longer than normal because this is our last time with this team and those seniors that are graduating,” Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said.

“What a great group of kids. You see the things on the field and all of what they’ve accomplished, but they’re such great people,” Niumatalolo said of the seniors. “I’m so fortunate to be able to coach those guys and just so proud of all they’ve done. On the field they’ve been phenomenal, but off the field they’ve been model midshipmen.”

Pittsburgh had three weeks to prepare for Navy’s patented triple-option offense, but it sure didn’t look like it. The Midshipmen set Military Bowl records by rolling up 590 total yards and 417 rushing yards.

“Navy is an 11-2 team for a reason. They have a great football team and Coach Ken does a great job of scheming you up,” Narduzzi said. “They did a lot of different stuff offensively today. You can’t prepare for stuff you don’t know is coming.”

Safety Lorentez Barbour and cornerback Brendon Clements snuffed out promising Pitt scoring opportunities with interceptions deep in their own territory. Clements, whose first pickoff came in the end zone, sealed the win with a second interception at his own 15-yard line with just over three minutes remaining.

Pitt was limited to 335 total yards and particularly struggled in the passing game. Quarterback Nate Peterman completed 13 of 21 attempts for just 137 yards with the three pickoffs.

“The coaches did a great job of getting us ready and had a really good game-plan,” Navy nose guard and defensive captain Bernie Sarra said. “We knew they liked to come downhill running the ball so early in the game our goal was to shut that down and I think we did pretty well. The guys behind us, the secondary and the linebackers, did a good job defending the pass. It was just a great effort across the board.”

Navy has struggled with kickoff coverage all season and it didn’t take long for Pitt to exploit that weakness. Henderson caught the ball at the goal line, burst through a big hole up the middle, cut to the right and outraced several chasing defenders to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead with just 14 seconds elapsed.

Niumatalolo was upset, but reminded himself that South Florida also returned the game’s opening kickoff for touchdown and Navy rebounded to win that game.

“I was trying to have some positive amidst all my negative thoughts. I was so mad. That’s obviously not how you want to start a football game. I think we were still mesmerized by Miss America,” said Niumatalolo, referring to national anthem singer Betty Cantrell.

Pitt would not find the end zone again until the 3:15 mark of the third quarter. Tailback Qadree Ollison’s 4-yard touchdown catch cut Navy’s commanding lead to 31-14 at that point.

Navy set the tone by driving 75 yards in 10 plays and taking 5:20 off the clock on its first possession. Romine got a great block from fellow slotback Toneo Gulley and gained 32 yards on a pitch to bring the ball to the Pitt 13. Four plays later, Reynolds waltzed in untouched from a yard out to tie the score.

Pitt picked up just one first down before having to punt on its opening possession. Reynolds then directed a 14-play, 86-yard march that lasted almost seven minutes. Reynolds completed a 26-yard pass to slotback Demond Brown (Old Mill) to get that drive started and later hooked up with slotback DeBrandon Sanders for a 16-yard gain.

Reynolds got the payoff again, cutting back on an option keeper and breezing into the end zone to make it 14-7 with 41 seconds left in the opening period.

Reynolds was the catalyst of Navy’s third touchdown drive as well, accounting for five plays that gained between 10 and 14 yards. He tossed an 11-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Tyler Carmona to cap the 12-play, 84-yard march, which gave the Mids a 21-7 halftime lead.

Navy got the ball to start the second half and used some trickery to tack on another touchdown and increase the advantage to 28-7. Reynolds pitched the ball to White, the third string fullback, then snuck out of the backfield around the left side. White lofted the ball high in the air and Reynolds went and got it – cutting in front a safety to snag the pass then racing another 35 yards to the Pitt 29. Three plays later, Brown took a pitch and tiptoed down the sideline – diving for the pylon for a 26-yard touchdown.

“I didn’t know we were going to run it when we did, which was probably the best deal. Because if I had known we were going to run it I would have dropped the ball,” Reynolds said. “I actually dropped one in practice so I was surprised that we actually went ahead and ran it. Shawn threw the ball up and gave me a chance and I was able to catch it.”

A 35-yard field goal by Austin Grebe made it 31-7 and it appeared Navy would cruise to victory. However, Pitt made things interesting by scoring two touchdowns in the span of 17 seconds.

Safety Jordan Whitehead, the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, returned a fumble by Swain 22 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 31-21 with 2:57 remaining in the third period.

Fans on the Pittsburgh side of the field got very loud when Navy faced third-and-17 from its own 46-yard line on the ensuing possession. However, Reynolds came through again – throwing a 15-yard pass to wide receiver Jamir Tillman then taking an option keeper 13 yards on fourth-and-2.

The Midshipmen faced another fourth down situation at the Panthers’ 17-yard line after Brown came up a yard short on a third down catch. Swain converted this time, picking up 2 yards off the left side to reach the 1,000 rushing plateau for the season.

Two plays later, Gulley scored on a 15-yard run, making a terrific cutback against the grain and blowing past a series of defenders that got caught flat-footed. Not only did the 68-yard drive increase the Navy lead to 38-21, but it also took 6:59 off the clock.

Pitt responded with a 73-yard drive that took just four plays and 1:21. Ollison broke loose for a 45-yard touchdown that pulled the Panthers back within 10 with 9:35 left in the contest.

Pittsburgh had a chance to get the ball back quickly when Navy faced third-and-2 from its own 33-yard line on the ensuing possession. However, Romine raced around the right side for the first down then cut back and picked up 43 yards deep into enemy territory.

That set up Reynolds’ third rushing touchdown of the game, which came from 9 yards out on a quarterback draw and put the Midshipmen ahead by 16.

“I thought Keenan played phenomenal. I thought he played with great composure,” Niumatalolo said. “They were really pressuring us and doing a lot of blitzing. They were doing a ton of things to stop the run so we had to throw the ball and Keenan did a really good job of that.”